Earlier this week, HBO premiered a documentary on the controversial feminist punk group, Pussy Riot. The 90 minute film is entitled Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. Thanks to Mama Daisy's U-Verse, I was able to watch the remarkable story about these brightly-colored balaclava adorned women, who spoke out against the injustices of their government. I was inspired by their brave behavior
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I went to see the latest addition to the hilarious Hangover series. While I was heartily guffawing and giggling, racial slur after slur turned what could have been one of the year's best comedies sour. Beyond the shocking moment when Zach Galifianakis said the word nigger, Hangover 3 was riddled with unnecessary, offensive words.
What shocked me even more than the diction was that, because I was laughing, I was sitting comfortably listening as the cast used racist language. As a student at a Historically Black College and University, part of my education has been focused on pinpointing racism. But even I was caught laughing at the Chinese slurs thrown at the character Mr. Chow. It bothered me that even in today's society screenwriters haven't figured out how to be both comedic and appropriate. What a shame; seeing as outside of the poor language, the movie was hilarious. The words used did not add to the film. They did not make the characters Alan or Mr. Chow any more funny. So why were they used? My theory for the word usage is that the writers themselves want to use the language in daily life, but can't. Clearly, racial slurs are still funny to the playwrights. They may have even thought offensive language would keep the Hangover ratings high. They were wrong: being scored 2/5 on the New York Times' review of the film. As the audience, we must ensure that our movie nights aren't turned into minstrel shows because writers can't be responsible. #knowbetterdobetter |
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ATS MagAgainst the Stream Magazine is an urban platform. We edify our readers by finding noble, pure, and true talent and giving it a stage to flourish. While we love bragging about the folks around us, we also tackle urban issues by giving real world solutions. Archives
October 2015
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